De la Paz woes far from over

MANILA, Philippines – He may have escaped prosecution in Russia for failing to declare excess cash in his possession, but former police director Eliseo de la Paz has a lot of explaining to do as soon as he gets back home.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said she would summon De la Paz and the entire delegation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who attended the Interpol assembly in Russia to a Senate inquiry on Thursday over the incident.

“I will subpoena all of them. They should submit pertinent documents. I want to know who authorized those documents. If they’re not duly authorized, then I want to know where they got the funds for their trip. How much are they earning anyway?” Santiago said.

“I will investigate them as chair of the Senate foreign relations committee because this infringes on our foreign relations with Russia. What will the Russians think of Filipinos?” Santiago remarked over radio dzBB.

Santiago also wanted Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and other PNP officials to appear and explain why Dela Paz was in possession of 105,000 euros, or about P6.9-million, in cash, despite his being a retired PNP general. 

Santiago said she never had the authority to possess contingency funds, or have her husband join her on her various foreign trips.

“We cannot afford it,” she said, while expressing doubt on the explanation of the PNP that the police officers’ wives went to Moscow at their own personal expense.

Santiago said she was disappointed with the explanation of Human Resource and Doctrine Development (HRDD) chief Director German Doria, who said the money was meant for medical emergency purposes in case someone from the PNP contingent to Russia gets sick.

Santiago described Doria’s explanation as “nonsensical,” and said the PNP could have just procured group insurance if they were just concerned about their health, rather than bring around a huge amount of cash.

She advised Puno and other PNP officials against using the blanket of executive privilege since they do not meet any of the conditions of the Supreme Court ruling that allows them to invoke the privilege.

Santiago, as vice chairman of the Senate committee on finance, said the Senate should carefully look into why Dela Paz and his wife were carrying the undeclared 105,000 euros during their Russian stint, noting that law enforcement is not a high-salaried profession.

PNP spokesman Nicanor Bartolome said Dela Paz would be required to return the unused money to the PNP’s general fund under proper accounting and auditing procedures.

“Immediately upon his return, PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa expects to receive the liquidation report of expenses of the PNP delegation that attended the recent Interpol conference in Russia,” he said.

Dela Paz is expected to return home anytime today or tomorrow, at the latest.

According to Western Mindanao police chief Director Jaime Caringal, Dela Paz has been cleared by the Russian authorities who also extended their visa to authorize their extended stay while being questioned over the excess cash.

Caringal had stayed behind to help Dela Paz and his wife in Moscow.

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa had already ordered a probe of the Moscow incident, designating PNP chief of Directorial Staff Director Geary Barias to spearhead the investigation.

But the probe will have to wait until next month as Barias is in Germany.

Verzosa stressed that even Russian customs, described as among the hardest law enforcement agency to deal with in the world, cleared Dela Paz and his wife of any liability after they submitted documents authorizing their possession of the money.

Aside from the eight senior police officers sent to attend the conference, representatives from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) were also part of the Philippine Interpol contingent headed by retired police Chief Superintendent Rolando Garcia, chief of the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC).

The wives of several of the officers also went with the delegation as invited guests to attend Interpol’s women functions. – Christina Mendez, James Mananghaya